CREW sues USPS and Treasury for records on DeJoy appointment

CREW is suing the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Treasury Department for failing to turn over comprehensive records on communications around Trump donor Louis DeJoy’s qualifications to lead the USPS and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his department’s involvement in DeJoy’s appointment. 

According to the Washington Post, after Postmaster General and former letter carrier Megan Brennan announced her plans to retire from the USPS in October 2019, Mnuchin recruited DeJoy to succeed her. The selection of a Trump ally and donor to lead the USPS has raised concerns about potential political interference at the agency. DeJoy is also the first Postmaster General in decades who did not come through the agency’s ranks.

Trump’s repeated attacks on voting by mail are adding to worries about the selection of a Republican fundraiser and Trump donor to be Postmaster General. Contrary to the President’s attacks on voting by mail, the USPS OIG has noted that states have implemented such processes effectively and efficiently, with support from the USPS. More recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has said “it has no evidence of any coordinated fraud schemes related to voting by mail this year.”

CREW previously filed a FOIA requesting Treasury communications about DeJoy’s appointment and only received three total pages of documentation. CREW also filed a FOIA for communications between USPS employees and members of Congress regarding DeJoy’s qualifications for his new appointment, and received no responsive records.

Public outcry around reports of the USPS under DeJoy removing mailboxes, shutting down letter sorting machines, and removing at least 23 USPS executives less than 90 days out from an election where voting by mail will be many voters’ preference given the pandemic heightens the urgency for documents about DeJoy to be publicly released. Scrutiny of DeJoy’s $30 million in financial interests in USPS competitors and contractors as well as his large donations to the RNC and the Trump campaign also escalate the need for records. The public deserves to know USPS and Treasury’s roles in making it harder for the public to vote by mail come November.